Chessington changes for 2012

[CoasterCrazy]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

Whenever I go to Chessington I feel that the park is missing a big ride and a woodie would be perfect, what about a junior woodie with a 50ft drop perhaps (so about 60ft in height)?

To compensate for noise they could build some of it indoors and maybe with several underground drops. Anyway since when were woodies noisy? The only problem I can see is screaming...

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

Give examples in the UK which are better? I'm struggling to think of any.

Peep has basically just done it for me. I haven't seen Peppa Pig world first hand, so I can't say for sure that it's better-themed than Wild Asia, but Thomas Land at Drayton craps all over it.

Oh come on, Pepper Pig World, Thomas Land and Nick Land do not count. External company doing everything completely for the park, Thomas Land is literally just C&Ped from park to park. Personally, I'm not a fan of Thomas Land or Nick Land anyway, but I've not seen Pepper Pig. I don't like bringing in IPs from an artsy fartsy creative point of view, it's cheap and it's easy in the short term and It's incredibly poor choice long term. They all look shiny and plasticy and mass produced, because they are.

I'd also say Katanga Canyon and Gloomy Wood at Alton are better themed as well; they certainly feel a lot more immersive, which is surely what theming is supposed to do?

I'd potentially agree with you here. But Kantanga Canyon had the benefit of being completely designed from scratch and hasn't really changed much since. Mystic East at Chessington was damn good years ago too, and felt enclosed and immersive because it was designed and built in the same kind of way. If you're going to criticise Chessington, criticise how the park has let things fall apart, not added much, ignored disgusting looking areas, etc. Gloomy Wood has the benefit of using existing scenery to enclose and make it immersive. With Wild Asia, there were none of these options.

My point still stands though; it's the apathetic "good for the UK" attitude that pisses me off the most. Why shouldn't we question what is clearly a second rate (being very polite there) product and just make do with it? If Wild Asia was at, say, Flamingoland (it's no better than that "Splosh" area), it would be slated to all hell, but because it's at CF's pet park it's "amazing".

Bollocks.

Flamingoland's wet area isn't better... It looks like a C&P plasticy mass produced mess. Probably because it is. I tell you what at Flamingoland IS good though, their splash boat and animal enclosures, pathways, and the Pirate ship area is really, really good.

It's not got anything to do with it being Chessington, and everything to do with it being one of the only examples of immersive theming in the UK and the world. When you look at how many theme parks there are, how many use theming and then how few use immersive theming, Chessington is to a high standard. And more importantly, it is to a high standard independently. The tree thing you slated is, I think, one of the greatest things at Chessington from the point of view of seeing it's success. It's not my kind of thing at all, but the target audience loves it. It's not just those of us who love Chessington who think that area is good, it's the GP too. I could tell by speaking to them when I worked there last season that the only below-par aspect of that area is Kobra as a ride experience and it's queue. "It looks really cool but it's rubbish" and "it's got a tall height restriction so my kid thought it was going to be really good!"

 

[gavin]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

^Now, I would carry on the discussion, but since you've basically just agreed with most of what I've said (with regard to better examples than WILD ASIA, which was what I was talking about and what you questioned - couldn't care less about Mystic East as I never mentioned that in the first place) and then said "but" it would seem a bit pointless.

You wanted examples, in my opinion, of better themeing than Wild Asia, and there you go. You can't just say "yeah ok, but ... but ... but ..." and continue to make excuses for it.

Ok, the tree thing is great for kids; does it have anything to do with this "immersive" theming? They could've put it literally anywhere else and would have been just as popular with families. It neither adds nor detracts from the Wild Asia theme.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

The "but but but" isn't excuse making, it's an attempt to explain to you why those examples are not any better from an objective point of view. It would be like saying "UK roads are **** and saying that they aren't as good as USA roads because in the UK we have to work with what we already have is an excuse". It's not an excuse, it's just a fact. Every reason for ripping it all up and starting from scratch is illogical. The cost, the time, the limited benefit, etc, as I explained.

As for thinking something like Nick Land is better, well that is opinion. But I see effort and worth in Wild Asia, and mass produced plastic in Nick Land, personally.

The tree does add to the immersive theming, because it's a story-telling piece. If you have a conversation with it, it tells you about Wild Asia. The land has a backstory that unites it's pieces. I don't see how it's not immersive? It is the most immersive aspect of Wild Asia, because it's interactive.

 

[marc]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

^The only problem is the tree is broken and has not been fixed, you can hardly hear the tree and the voice was not working the correct way last time.

This is the problem with a lot of things not just at Chessington, things break and they don't get fixed.

 

[gavin]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

As for thinking something like Nick Land is better, well that is opinion. But I see effort and worth in Wild Asia, and mass produced plastic in Nick Land, personally.

I didn't say Nick Land was better; I didn't even mention Nick Land at all.

 

[marc]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

I have tbh here I really do not understand why people keep trying to defend Chessigton, I have said it before and I will say it again as it has been totally over looked.

Most of the theming in that park is over 20 years old and the whole park needs work not just the zoo.

Wild Asia could have and should have been so much more, and now thats just been left with broken things.

 

[Ollie]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

I really like Wild Asia. It's the best themed area of the park and it's just really nice. The only thing I can fault it on is that it feels very open for a jungle and needs more stuff in the middle like small bits of broken ruins and more trees and foliage.
But as far as themeing goes I'd say it's pretty good. It's certainly 'one of' the best themed areas of a theme park in the UK. It's certainly not crap in any way and is LOADS better than Beanoland was.

 

[marc]

Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

I don't thinks it's crap it just needs more as you say.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

As for thinking something like Nick Land is better, well that is opinion. But I see effort and worth in Wild Asia, and mass produced plastic in Nick Land, personally.

I didn't say Nick Land was better; I didn't even mention Nick Land at all.

Thomas Land, then. And I suspect Pepper Pig World, though I can't say for sure. All the same stuff.

I have tbh here I really do not understand why people keep trying to defend Chessigton, I have said it before and I will say it again as it has been totally over looked.

Most of the theming in that park is over 20 years old and the whole park needs work not just the zoo.

Wild Asia could have and should have been so much more, and now thats just been left with broken things.

I agree with everything until we get to Wild Asia... Where, as I keep saying, it is very good given the restrictions.

The problem with Chessington is that any investments that (I feel) would really bring people to the park aren't possible due to height, land or cost issues. General improvements don't bring people in and are not cost effective. The park has been neglected because Thorpe and Legoland confidently address a target market, and they have had success in doing so, which means they can afford to invest more. Chesington is ...well, stuck, with indecisive people in charge (not their fault, I would be too, it's big gambles involved here) and a lack of usable land and (I am guessing) funding.

Sucks that the tree is broke... I didn't know, but it doesn't surprise me. And you're right, it'll stay broke. This is an issue with the park managements, and for some reason at Chessington it's particularly bad. The issue is that whoever is in charge of maintaining these things on park doesn't think they are worth maintaining. That is a huge, huge problem, because it begs the question why waste money implementing in the first place? Someone higher needs to give everyone involved a kick up the arse and they all need to communicate a heck of a lot better.

I don't know what the answer is other than someone needs to grow some balls and just TRY something, and that's what they are doing... So I won't complain until I can see what it does to attendance figures over a longer period of time.

 

[EnigmaHyena]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

Speaking of attendance figures, I have something depressing to add; looking at the entire month of August, the highest amount of guests was around 13-14,000 on Saturday 20th August...surely that's very low compared to parks like Alton, Thorpe and Alton, and especially in what is usually the most hectic period for parks. I certainly don't remember it ever feeling too hectically busy when I worked through the Summer.

A woman spoke to me the other day and seemed genuinely disappointed, saying that it just felt "like a zoo with kiddy rides plonked here and there". Also, a lot of people seem unhappy with paying £38.40/27.60 for what Chessie has...that's possibly the most common complaint I get, and they usually finish it off with "we should have gone to Thorpe". I certainly wouldn't pay to enter, the only reason I visit it is because of the Magic Pass I have/Annual Pass last year...and even then I struggle to enjoy it and get bored after about an hour.

Yeah, the park definitely needs to fix what's broken and invest in an inverting coaster, maybe something simple and small like a Swarzkopf looper...even a clone of Turbo would do! I'm hearing 8-9 year olds complaining that Rameses is the only ride that goes upside down. Hopefully Merlin will stop overlooking the park and actually listen to what people want - the park really needs it.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

^ Yeah, that. I think it's fundamentally damaging for the park to be stuck in this "family parks don't build big rides" frame of mind. People pay for rides, they don't pay to see animals unless they are particularly interesting.

What I think is really weird is how they are clearly modeling themselves over the Busch Gardens parks, but seem to miss the point that it's the thrill attractions which make those parks stand out. Flamingoland gets it, why are Chessington missing the plot?

 

[CoasterCrazy]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

What I think is really weird is how they are clearly modeling themselves over the Busch Gardens parks, but seem to miss the point that it's the thrill attractions which make those parks stand out. Flamingoland gets it, why are Chessington missing the plot?

Although the theming seems to suggest that,chessington primarily aim their rides at families and would probably never dream of getting a coaster with an inversion...I still think they should get one though. :--D

Chessington will always be one of those parks for 'developing' theme park enthusiasts that haven't got the courage to face the larger rides at Thorpe or Alton.

I know lots of people have said that, but chessington will always remain a small family theme park ...

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

The Busch parks ARE family parks. Read this. The presence of 1.4m rides is neither here nor there.

This is exactly what I'm talking about, for some reason both Chessington AND enthusiasts seem to think that they shouldn't go for a big ride, when they should. They are the ONLY thing that will bring in substantial numbers when you consider cost of investment/attendance ratio.

I totally agree that Chessington should be a place for kids to ride their first big rides... Vampire, then Dragon's Fury and at the moment the next step is, realistically, Ramases Revenge and Rattlesnake. Neither of these rides are in reality a "step up" from Fury.

When I was a kid, I went to Chessington every year and rode something new as I grew up and got braver/taller. Continue the trend. Like Mark in particular amongst others have been saying for years, family does not just mean small children and adults. And if Chessington are going for the zoo market, they need to understand that something crazy like 40% of zoo goers are adults with no children.

 

[AJ]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

Am i the only one that thinks Wild Asia is pretty standard theming?

I don't feel like it's amazingly themed at all. I'm impressed to what they changed it from but, like, it's lacking. They've done an amazing job turning it around but i don't think it's that great.

The tree was fab, but it's BROKEN now, so yeah.

Like Marc said, it could and should have been so much more. But then again, isn't the first or last time we'll see the could/should from Merlin.


I don't know, i was never really too impressed with it as an area and everyone seems to absolutely love/bum it.

 

[Aaron]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

I went to chessington last week and actually forgot wild asia was there and didn't go anywhere near it!

(partly because luke was terrified of all the rides so we spent most of the day in the zoo)

I do think that chessington is getting pretty drab, I certainly wouldn't pay to get in any time soon, it's a rip off really for a glorified zoo with rides. it really feels like they're not making any effort there

My overall impression was that it was a bit of a mess and falling apart a little...

PLUS they've started charging for the car park now, which we only found out thanks to a tiny sandwich board sign at the exit. dislike.

They NEED to do something about it, it's losing the magic...

 

[gavin]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

Am i the only one that thinks Wild Asia is pretty standard theming?

No, read the topic, bitch.

I've been ragging on it for ages; it's sh**e.

 

[Mark9]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

When I was a kid, I went to Chessington every year and rode something new as I grew up and got braver/taller. Continue the trend. Like Mark in particular amongst others have been saying for years, family does not just mean small children and adults. And if Chessington are going for the zoo market, they need to understand that something crazy like 40% of zoo goers are adults with no children.

Exactly that. The irony of Chessington is that it was closesr to a family park when was getting things like Rattlesnake, Rameses and Samurai. Now that they've just completely closed off that part of the audience, it's like they're stuck in a rut. Can't move forwards with new attractions and won't go back to fix the old stuff.

And I can't see a solution. It can get the people into the park when it adds something of decent quality but not when it's fighting a losing battle against Thorpe, Legoland and its own managers.

 

[CoasterCrazy]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

Cheesington seriously need a big ride...it feels wierd without one!

I do like the idea of a Swarzkopf looper though!Something like superdooperlooper would be great!

 

[Ollie]

Re: Chessington to make drastic impovements for 2012

Chessington has posted a survey on their Facebook page asking how they can improve Bubbleworks.
http://www.facebook.com/Chessington

I reckon instead of a re-theme they should gut the ride completely. I reckon a Vekoma Madhouse would fit perfectly in Chessington.
It's great for families, has high capacity, low height limit and they can theme it around Transylvania.
Have it so you're exploring Dracula's castle or something and then you end up on the Madhouse ride. Would be great if they could theme it right and have a decent story for it.